I built a hardware processor that runs Python

Re:I built a hardware processor that runs Python by hwpythonner on Monday April 28, 2025 @07:46AM (#43820245)

Hi everyone, I built PyXL — a hardware processor that executes a custom assembly generated from Python programs, without using a traditional interpreter or virtual machine. It compiles Python -> CPython Bytecode -> Instruction set designed for direct hardware execution.

I’m sharing an early benchmark: a GPIO test where PyXL achieves a 480ns round-trip toggle — compared to 14-25 micro seconds on a MicroPython Pyboard - even though PyXL runs at a lower clock (100MHz vs. 168MHz).

The design is stack-based, fully pipelined, and preserves Python's dynamic typing without static type restrictions. I independently developed the full stack — toolchain (compiler, linker, codegen), and hardware — to validate the core idea. Full technical details will be presented at PyCon 2025.

Demo and explanation here: https://runpyxl.com/gpio Happy to answer any questions

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Re:I built a hardware processor that runs Python by jimbokun on Monday April 28, 2025 @11:10AM (#43822355)

What's your development background that prepared you to take on a project like this?

Clearly you know a lot about both low level Python internals and a fair amount about hardware design to pull this off.

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Re:I built a hardware processor that runs Python by hwpythonner on Monday April 28, 2025 @11:58AM (#43822923)

I'm a software engineer by background, mostly in high-frequency trading (HFT), HPC, systems programming, and networking — so a lot of focus on efficiency and low-level behavior. I had played a bit with FPGAs before, but nothing close to this scale — most of the hardware and Python internals work I had to figure out along the way.

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